FiBL project

Development of integrated livestock breeding and management strategies to improve animal health, product quality and performance in European organic and 'low input' milk, meat and egg production

Title Original

Development of integrated livestock breeding and management strategies to improve animal health, product quality and performance in European organic and 'low input' milk, meat and egg production

Official Acronym

LOWINPUTBREEDS

Official project number

222623

FiBL project number

45009

Abstract

The LowInputBreeds project unites 21 partners from Europe and further afield and will develop integrated breeding and management strategies to tackle the issue of improved animal health and food quality. It will run until 2014 and is co-funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development.

The project has four main objectives:

To develop and evaluate innovative breeding concepts to deliver genotypes with ‘robustness’ and quality traits required under ‘low input’ conditions.

To integrate the use of improved genotypes with innovative management approaches. These will focus on issues where breeding or management innovations alone are unlikely to provide satisfactory solutions e.g. mastitis or parasite control.

To identify the potential economic, environmental and ethical impacts of the project’s results. The project needs to ensure that the results are in line with society’s different needs, priorities and consumer expectations.

To establish an efficient training and dissemination programme aimed at rapid application of project results in organic and ‘low input’ livestock farming.

LowInputBreeds focuses on six major livestock production systems: dairy and beef cattle, dairy and meat sheep, pigs and laying hens.

The project consortium includes 15 academic centres of excellence and six industrial partners in 15 countries in Europe as well as in Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and Tunisia. It is coordinated by Newcastle University in the UK (overall coordination) in collaboration with the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL (scientific coordination).